Echinacea plant named ‘Firebird’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Echinacea  plant named ‘Firebird’ characterized by medium, red orange flowers in a shuttlecock shape, well-branched flower stalks, a low habit, and excellent vigor.

Botanical denomination: Echinacea sp.

Variety designation: ‘Firebird’.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofEchinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Firebird’. Echinacea is in thefamily Asteraceae. This new cultivar originated as a fourth generationseedling from a planned breeding program using the unpatented parentsEchinacea paradoxa and Echinacea purpurea ‘Ruby Giant’ for the initialcross. The exact parents of this selection are unnamed proprietary,unreleased plants.

Compared to Echinacea paradoxa, an unpatented plant and the originalpollen parent in the breeding line, the new variety is much shorter andhas red orange rather than yellow inflorescences.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,839, the newvariety is shorter and has red orange rather than bright orange flowers.

This new Echinacea cultivar is distinguished by:

-   -   1. medium, red orange flowers in a shuttlecock shape    -   2. well-branched flower stalks    -   3. short habit    -   4. excellent vigor

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation(division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identicalcharacteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by divisionand tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques withterminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that theforegoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and areestablished and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The presentinvention has not been evaluated under all possible environmentalconditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environmentwithout a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The photograph shows nine-month-old plants of Echinacea ‘Firebird’growing in the ground in the trial field in full sun in the field inlate June in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Echinacea cultivarbased on observations of 18-month old specimens growing in the ground inthe field in full sun in the trial bed under typical outdoor conditionsin Canby, Oreg. The plants had been moved from one trial field toanother the fall before. Canby is in Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness mapTemperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an averageof 32 degrees F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches peryear in the trial fields in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are allbased on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, fifth edition.

-   Plant:    -   -   Type.—Herbaceous perennial.        -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 4 to 9.        -   Size.—Grows to 41 cm wide and 60 cm tall to top of flowers.        -   Form.—Basal clump.        -   Vigor.—Excellent.        -   Roots.—Roots develop easily from cuttings from the crown.-   Stem (flowering):    -   -   Type.—Ascending.        -   Size.—Branching up to 6 times to 39 cm tall (to the upper            most leaves) and 7 mm wide at base.        -   Number of stems from the crown.—12.        -   Internode length.—2 cm to 6 cm.        -   Surface texture.—Strigose.        -   Color.—Yellow Green 145B mottled with Yellow Green 147B.-   Leaf (basal):    -   -   Type.—Simple.        -   Shape.—Lanceolate.        -   Arrangement.—Basal.        -   Blade size.—Grows to 22 cm long and 8 cm wide.        -   Margins.—Entire, undulate.        -   Apex.—Acute.        -   Base.—Attenuate.        -   Surface texture.—Strigose on both sides.        -   Venation.—Pinnate.        -   Color.—Topside, Green 137A with the vein Yellow Green 147C            and bottom side closest to Yellow Green 147B with the vein            Yellow Green 147C.        -   Petiole description.—Grows to 21 cm long and 3 mm wide,            strigose, Yellow Green 147C except base which is Greyed            Purple 187A.-   Leaf (stem):    -   -   Type.—Simple.        -   Shape.—Ovate to lanceolate.        -   Arrangement.—Alternate.        -   Blade size.—Grows to 12.5 cm long and 5 cm wide.        -   Margins.—Coarsely serrate to entire, undulate.        -   Apex.—Acute.        -   Base.—Attenuate, continuing down petiole, clasping.        -   Surface texture.—Strigose on both sides.        -   Venation.—Pinnate.        -   Color.—Topside, Yellow Green 146A with the vein Yellow Green            145C and bottom side closest to Yellow Green 147B with the            vein Yellow Green 145C.        -   Petiole description.—Grows to 2.5 cm long and 6 mm wide,            strigose, Yellow Green 146D except top side base Greyed            Purple 187A.-   Inflorescence:    -   -   Type.—Composite on terminal stalked heads.        -   Number of flowering stems per plant in summer.—16 from the            crown, most branching.        -   Flowering stem.—Grows to 54 cm tall from the base of the            plant to the terminal flower and can grow to 23 cm long from            the top leaf to the base of a flower head; branched, 1 to 6            inflorescences per stem; diameter growing to 10 mm wide near            the flower head; strigose, Yellow Green 145B mottled with            Yellow Green 147B.        -   Size.—Grows to 9 cm wide and 8 cm deep as disc enlarges.        -   Form.—Ray florets held mostly perpendicular to the stem when            first opening then dropping down at a 30 to 40 degree angle;            mature disc is conic.        -   Immature inflorescence.—3.8 cm wide and 2.2 cm deep, ray            florets held at a 40 degree angle and rolled up so only the            back color shows, Greyed Purple 183A, disc Greyed Purple            187A.        -   Ray florets.—Without pistil or stamen, 17 to 30 in number,            oblanceolate with the tip 3 toothed (each acute), entire            margins, base attenuate, grows to 5 cm long and 11 mm wide,            glabrous on both sides; topside a bicolor with the top half            between Orange Red 31 A and Orange Red 35A and bottom half            darkening to Red 45A (base Red Purple 59A), older flowers            fade to Red Purple 61A at the base and blends into Greyed            Orange 173C near the tip; bottom side Greyed Purple 184A            fading to Greyed Red 182A.        -   Disc florets.—About 450 in number, with pistil and stamen,            11 mm long and 2 mm wide, each with one persistent, very            stiff bract (14 mm long and Greyed Purple 187A on top ⅓ to            Yellow Green 146A on middle ⅓, White 155A on bottom ⅓);            corolla 5 mm long and 2 mm wide, 5 lobed, glabrous, Yellow            Green 146B with Greyed Purple 187A on lobes and base, pistil            11 mm long, ovary 1.5 mm long, White 155A, style 6 mm long,            Greyed Purple 187A with an extruding, 2-branched stigma            spreading 2 mm wide, Greyed Purple 187; stamen 4 in number,            4.5 mm long, anthers 3 mm long and Greyed Purple N186A,            filaments 1.5 mm long, Yellow Green 146C, pollen Yellow            Orange 20A.        -   Phyllaries.—In 4 leafy series, area 32 mm wide and 8 mm            deep, lobes lanceolate in shape, reflexed, grow to 7 mm long            and 3 mm wide, margins strigose, tip acute, Yellow Green            147A.        -   Receptacle.—Grows to 12 mm wide and 25 mm deep, White 155B.        -   Bloom period.—July through October in Canby, Oreg.        -   Fragrance.—Light, floral.        -   Lastingness.—Each inflorescence lasts about two weeks in            Canby, Oreg.-   Seeds: Average number of 10 seeds/head, each 5 mm long and 2.5 mm    wide, oval, Greyed Brown N199A.    -   -   Fertility.—Low.-   Disease and pests: Echinacea are susceptible to leaf miners, powdery    mildew, bacterial spots, and gray mold. None of these have been    observed on plants grown under commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg.    No resistance is known.

COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR ECHINACEA

Compared to Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,427), thenew cultivar has more orange in the flower and fades to a bicolor ratherthan being red and fading to a dull red. The new cultivar hasinflorescences that are shaped like a shuttlecock, rather than havingpetals perpendicular to the stem.

1. A new and distinct Echinacea plant as herein illustrated anddescribed.